Orlando crowing over allowing urban chickens

Orlando is clucking over a new pilot program that will allow residents to keep "urban chickens" in backyard coops.

City officials say they've been henpecked by earthy-crunchy homeowners who want fresh eggs free of chemicals and pesticides. So Monday, the City Council approved a test program to allow pet chickens at 25 homes in three of Orlando's six City Council districts.

"It's a way to bring a little bit of farming into the big city," said Colonialtown North resident Lindsay Hodges, who approached her city commissioner about changing Orlando's no-chicken policy.

So-called urban chickens are allowed in 11 cities in Florida, including St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Miami and, of course, Key West. But Orlando is the first in Central Florida; Oviedo may be known for roaming chickens, but those birds are outlaws.

It's part of a larger sustainability trend that encourages people to grow their own food. Nationwide, there are at least 161 cities that allow residents to keep chickens. They include big cities, such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Orlando is behind the curve when it comes to poultry, said Dennis Mudge, the University of Florida animal-science extension agent for Orange County.

"The amount of requests for this is just amazing," Mudge said. "Orlando is loaded with pet parakeets and pigeons and other birds, but for some reason, we discriminate against chickens."

That changes — at least for now — under what City Hall is officially calling the Urban Chickens Pilot Program.

The first 25 households to meet city requirements will be allowed to keep as many as three hens. (Roosters and their early-morning crowing remain unwelcome in the City Beautiful.) More than a dozen people have already signed up, including Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who championed the proposal.

"I love gardening, and I love fresh eggs provided by healthy chickens," said Sheehan, who used to work for the Florida Department of Agriculture and helped develop Orlando's program. "There's a real difference in the quality of the egg — the taste is so much better."

Chicken owners will have to follow a slew of city rules that planners came up with based on ordinances in other cities. Hens must be kept in covered coops inside a fenced pen, and they won't be allowed at duplexes or apartments. Applicants will have to attend a seminar on how to care for chickens. An agricultural extension agent will inspect the site.

Even so, city commissioners didn't fully embrace the poultry proposal. Three of the six commissioners said they want to see if there are any problems first, so they elected to opt out of the pilot program for their districts.

The three districts where they'll be allowed — 3, 4 and 5 — are closest to downtown, including the neighborhoods of College Park, Baldwin Park, Audubon Park, Colonialtown, Lake Eola Heights, Parramore and Rock Lake.

"You know there are going to be roosters all over the place," said District 2 Commissioner Tony Ortiz. "How are we going to control this?"

But other commissioners argued that Orlando residents are already keeping chickens — just not legally.

"I'll bet you there are probably 75 to 100 in the city who are already doing it, and we need to bring them into compliance," Commissioner Robert Stuart said.

Hodges said she has friends with urban chickens who are able to keep their secret by sharing eggs with neighbors. For Hodges, the desire for her own chickens is the latest step in a path that started with gardening and composting. Eggs from factory farms aren't as healthful, she said.

"The eggs you get in Publix, for instance, have been through the transportation system for a couple of weeks," Hodges said. "By the time you get them, they've lost some of their nutritional value."

Mayor Buddy Dyer said the pilot program could easily be expanded if extension agents are able to keep up with inspections.

"I suspect all 25 of those permits will be gone by Friday," Dyer said. "If this becomes onerous and expensive, then we won't expand it."